


The Poisoned Peach

by CoolShades



Series: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Smut [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games), Snow White - All Media Types, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Escort Mission, F/M, Nymphs & Dryads, Snow White Elements, The Seven Dwarves Are Now Nymphs, Tree Monster, Unrequited Crush, Wilderness, Wilderness Survival
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:55:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29440803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoolShades/pseuds/CoolShades
Summary: Terra helps an exiled princess find refuge with the fabled protectors of the forest.
Relationships: Terra/Snow White
Series: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Smut [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2162544





	The Poisoned Peach

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This takes place in a year earlier in the same continuity as another one of my fics, "The Perfect Fit."

Atop his glider, Terra assessed the land. It was most certainly the autumn season in this world, as the woodlands which filled virtually the entire expanse were rich in yellows, oranges and browns. On one end stood a towering mountain, with Terra being nowhere close to its peak even as he sat several dozen kilometres in the air. On the other end was a small kingdom, a small blotch of gray amid the rest of the earthy tones of the landscape. Fortified by a wall which encircled the entire cobblestone architecture, it looked more like a fortress than the more lavish kingdoms Terra had encountered in his brief travels to the outside world. Master Eraqus informed Terra that it was a trading kingdom, the only scrap of civilization for miles. With so many wayward travelers coming in and out of the area intermingling, if absolutely necessary, would likely not arouse suspicion, armored or not. 

The dark presence of this world Terra had come to investigate did not grant him the convenience of lunging at him right upon arrival. The bartering by wily merchants and paladins to the unchecked wilds outside the kingdom's barriers could either be a hotbed for Darkness. Fortunately, Terra did not have to wait long to decide which to investigate first, as even high in the sky he heard a shriek of mortal terror coming from a patch of trees below him.

Terra dipped his glider downward, the trajectory of his descent narrowed by another high-pitched scream. Cutting through the branches and foliage, Terra’s glider descended to light and just as soon found his Keyblade return to his grip as he gracefully fell to the earth on his armored boots. Standing upright, Terra found the source of the peril was not too far away from his point of landing. Meters from where he stood was a young woman, not much younger than Terra himself. Her ankles scrapped the ground while being held up by her twisted arm by a monster in the shape of a ghastly old tree. Its claw took the shape of a gnarled old branch, and its face was a hollowing of its trunk, chipped into the approximation of fearsome eyes and a fanged maw. 

The monster appeared unfazed to Terra’s entrance. Even as the girl fought back against her restraints, a second arm lunged at her, gripping and tearing at the ankle-long skirt of her dress. It leered down at the terrified woman, howling an otherworldly grow from its mouth, which within glowed with some sort of eerie luminescence of reds and purples. Terra drew out his Keyblade and launched a fire spell right into the beast’s hold on the girl. His skills in sorcery were subpar compared to Aqua’s, but it was enough to make the monster recoil in pain, arching back as it howled in anguish and released the woman from its grip. As she fell on her back to the ground, Terra charged at the beast and threw himself into the air, clutching both hands on his Keyblade’s handle, ready to plunge his weapon directly into the beast as his body fell back to the ground. However, one of the many other “limbs” which crowned the top of the beast’s form grabbed Terra by the ankle in mid-air, and next thing he knew he was swiftly hurled down and caught in the hold of a dozen of these claws. 

Terra cursed himself, especially as he glanced over his shoulder in his struggle to find the girl right where she was, too petrified to make an escape. He rushed into battle, went for brutality over strategy, and not only got himself caught but even kept innocents in the crossfire. Luckily, fate seemed to give him enough reach to redeem himself, as the monster’s claws, though numerous, were not strong enough to tear him apart or even severely damage his armor. One by one, each broke to splinters as Terra fought back against his constraints, kicking and thrashing his limbs. With a twist of his hips, he broke free completely, tumbling to the ground and landing on a foot and knee. Instantly, the monster lunged down upon Terra, using it biggest claw, still smoldering in embers from his spell, down upon him. With a quick drawing of his Keyblade, Terra parried the monster’s attack, though the blow was nonetheless devastating. He tasted blood in his mouth, and his knee strained into the dirt as the beast pressed its weight down onto Terra.

“Run!” Terra barked with a twist of his neck, which he held in place long enough to see the girl gain enough bearings to scramble to her feet and flee. Turning back at the monster confronted him with its face, putting him close to the position the girl was in seconds ago. The illumination within did not appear to come from any candle or lantern, nor did its hollow interior actually resemble an empty, decaying oak. Within its trunk was an expanse of absolute darkness, which the lights hung in an otherworldly swirl. It sounded to growl down at Terra, but rang its eerier echo that struck Terra's nerves, which only weakened his defensive stance further. All he needed was but one second to break out of the beast's hold, but it seemed to be putting its full weight upon Terra. He could feel the rush of his heart pounding in his temples, and the pressure of his knee and ankle against the ground becoming unbearable. If her were to buckle, the monster could very well swallow Terra whole, and he could only imagine that meant being consumed into whatever abyss dwelled within the tree's interior.

Then, in a split-second, the beast relinquished its hold on Terra, throwing itself backward and howling in pain. Terra did not have the time to register the monster's reaction, but did use the opportunity to spring himself back to his feet, hurling himself backward into the air and putting a few yards distance between him and the monster. The monster growled at him, hunched over and one of the lights in its hollowed-out eyes apparently snuffed out. It began to advance towards Terra, which he noticed was still tethered to the earth like any natural tree, but its roots slithering and snapping through the dirt as it lumbered towards Terra. Quickly composing himself with a deep breath, Terra gripped his weapon in both hands, and with the blade resting across his face he silently called upon the magic-enhanced techniques taught to him by his Master. Sure enough, his Keyblade was enveloped in a bright light, and with it he drew the weapon over his head before delivering a mighty blow down into the ground before him. As he had hoped, the enchanted blow made the ground underneath the monster give way. Literally uprooted, the beast wobbled, then tumbled backwards.

Terra was faced with the ball of the creature's roots, slivering and snapping and clumps of dirt falling off of it as the monster struggled to hoist itself back up. Not daring to give it another chance, he launched a fire spell into the monster's roots, and as it writhed in pain, Terra dashed counter-clockwise to where it was sprawled on the ground. With a lunge of his arm and one final use of his magic reserves, Terra delivered a Sonic Blade directly into the maw of the beast. With one final inhuman shriek, Terra watched a shadowy apparition float out of the monster upon impact, dwindling down to an echo and then nothing. All that remained was its physical form, and soon Terra's spell would envelop the rest of its old, blistered, hollowed tree body. 

Shaken, Terra hastily reached to his shoulder-brace and dispelled his armor, just to try and not feel as stifled as he did. He slowly descended to the ground, bracing himself up on his hands and knees as he struggled to calm his breathing. That was by far the biggest threat, in every sense of the word, he had ever come across, and he narrowly survived it by sheer dumb luck. Even without his armor, Terra was beginning to feel boxed in, and clenching his teeth he was readying to lambaste himself for his recklessness. He once again missed the opportunity to dwell on whatever it was that gave him the opportunity to escape the beast's grasp when he picked up the sound of labored breathing other than his own. Looking up, he saw the girl, staring blankly at the monster's burning remains and hugging her bent legs tightly around her chest. 

"Are you oka—?" Terra began to ask, but stopped as he saw her flinch to his outstretched hand. Her big brown eyes were full of distress, and her pretty silken gown was torn and disheveled. After a pause, he withdrew his hand, then rose back onto his feet, turning away from her. He reassembled his armor only briefly, unclasping his cape from his shoulders one at a time and bundling it around his forearm before reaching back to his shoulder-brace. As his armor vanished, his cape remained. 

"I'm not going to hurt you. I promise," he said softly, gesturing his arms out with his cape held between. "I heard your screams. I came to help.”

The girl looked up at Terra, her eyes still fearful but not directly fearful of him. Her full lips were parted as her breaths kept coming out in gasps. 

“You…came from the sky?” she asked. Her delicate voice sounded strained, no doubt from her cries earlier. 

Terra chuckled. “I’m…from a different land. I travel to protect those who might need it. My name is Terra.” He kneeled down behind her and draped his cape over her slim shoulders. He felt her tense up, but did not pull away outright.

“I am Snow," she said, looking at Terra over her shoulder. "Snow White.”

“Are you lost, miss Snow? I can escort you back to the kingdom, if you wish.”

Snow jerked her head away from her shoulder, and pulled Terra's cape more tightly around herself. “No, I…I am not welcome in Queen Grimhilde’s dominion.”

“There’s not another village for miles. Where were you trying to get to, all by yourself?”

“It has been said that these woodlands are protected by the Pleiades, companions of the hunt and votaries of Mount Oread." Snow explained. "There have been stories of them taking in disowned children of noble birth. I was hoping that to see if I was of such gracious a description.”

“Seems like a lot of danger for what might not even be true.”

Snow relaxed her legs and turned herself by her waist to better look upon Terra. “Did you not see it? When the beast recoiled and you took the opportunity to cut it down? That was one of the Pleiades, striking one of their holy arrows into the beast’s soul.”

Terra pursed his lips. He had to admit, he at least saw the monster react as though it was stricken by an arrow. Still...“If that were true, then how come they’re not showing themselves?”

Snow narrowed her brow at Terra and pouted her lips. “The Pleiades are most ancient. They have consorted with the old gods. They are beyond mortal bidding. It is not of us to ask for their presence, we— _I_ must prove myself worthy of it.”

Terra winced. Even outside of combat, he could stumble. “If you really can’t go back to the kingdom, then at least let me stay with you while you’re looking for these Pleiades. You’ll need the protection if you’re going to get any farther through these woods." He got back to his feet, and then offered his hand to help Snow do the same.

"And I promise I won’t take bad about them anymore, I swear,” he finished with a polite smile.

Snow smiled in return, and accepted his hand. "I can agree to your conditions, Sir Terra," she said as she rose to her feet. "So long as you can accept my own."

"Such as?"

"All I ask is trust and respect from you. These are still my lands, and we will need my direction just as much as I will need your skills. Please do not undermine me, and only object to my guidance when absolutely necessary."

Terra scratched the back of his head and bashfully smiled. While he had many missteps, following orders was certainly not one of them. "Don't worry, that won't be a problem." Terra even had enough humor to take a bow then and there. "I am at your service, miss." Rising back up, he looked over Snow—not a difficult thing for him, as she barely came up to his chest—and scanned the wilds around him. "Speaking of direction, which way were you even going before—?"

Suddenly the air was knocked out of his lungs as Snow threw herself against him and wrapped her arms around his back. Before he had the chance to be properly startled, he registered how Snow's nimble body trembled against his own. 

"Thank you," he heard her sheepishly whisper. 

Terra was beside himself. In spite of the familial love he felt for his Master and his fellow Keyblade pupils, such physical affection was largely unknown to Terra. Save for...Aqua...

Sighing, Terra shook the thought out of his head and wrapped his own arms around Snow. It would be a moment before the two would disengage and begin their journey. 


End file.
